Concrete cutting in Los Angeles CA - a clean opening right where you need it
Need a trench, an opening or a cracked section taken out of your slab or wall? We cut it clean, straight and wet.
How do you cut through a concrete slab safely?
Concrete cutting in Los Angeles means taking out part of a hardened slab or wall with diamond tools, so you get a clean opening for a door, a pipe or new concrete without breaking up everything around it.
Usually the cut is the first step of some other job. A plumber needs a trench through the garage floor, a sunken stretch has to come out before it's replaced, or you want a door or a vent through a concrete wall. The price turns on how many feet we cut, how thick the concrete is, how much steel is inside and how easily we can get the saw to it. The schedule turns on the scan, on your engineer if the cut is structural, and on whether the city has to weigh in because the work is by the street. When I come out and look at it, I'll give you the figure for your own cut.
How we handle concrete cutting, start to finish
Before a blade touches the slab, we scan it for rebar, the steel bars set inside to hold concrete together, and for post-tension cables and live lines, because hitting any of those turns a simple cut into a repair or a hazard. If the opening carries load, like a doorway in a bearing wall or a cut through the steel that holds up a slab, we want your engineer involved first so the plan is settled before anything comes out. Then we mark the lines and cut wet with a diamond blade, so the water holds the dust down instead of letting it drift into your house. We collect the slurry, the gray mix of water and grit the saw leaves behind, so it stays off your floors and out of the drains, then break out the piece, haul it away and leave a square edge ready for whatever comes next.
Most cuts lead straight into new concrete. When only part of a driveway has cracked or sunk, cutting out that stretch is often how concrete driveway building starts, and when we do concrete patio construction beside an existing slab, a straight saw line gives the new pour a clean edge to meet.
Cutting out a damaged section
This suits a driveway, patio or walk where one stretch has cracked or sunk and the rest is still sound. A saw line lets us take out only the bad part, so you're not paying to replace concrete that's still doing its job.
Openings, trenches and round holes
This suits plumbing runs through a garage floor, a door or window in a concrete wall, or holes for pipes and anchors. These are the cuts where the scan, and your engineer when the cut is structural, matter most.
Concrete cutting in Los Angeles near the street and at home
If the cut is in the sidewalk, the parkway strip by the curb, an alley or your driveway apron, that's public right-of-way, and work there falls under the city's Bureau of Engineering. The Bureau's permit list names driveway aprons, sidewalks and curb drains but not cutting on its own, so I won't guess whether your cut needs a permit. We ask the Bureau about your address first, and when a permit is needed we handle the application and the inspections for you.
We're based in Los Angeles and work across the city and many of the cities around it. On older houses we often find slabs that have been patched and added onto over the years, which is one more reason the scan comes first, and we do the same garage trenches and driveway cut-backs in Pasadena and Glendale.
Concrete cutting and coring work
Why call us for concrete cutting
The owner estimates and leads
I come out to look at the cut and give the estimate myself, and I lead the crew that does the work. The person who walked the job with you is the one on site when the saw starts.
In business since 2013
I learned concrete from my dad and started this company in 2013, so we've been at it 13 years. That's long enough to know what tends to turn up inside an old slab once it's opened.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured. In California the D-6 license is the one that covers concrete sawing, breaking and coring, so it's worth asking any crew you're comparing which license they carry.
What matters most on a cut is knowing what's inside the concrete before the blade goes in. Tell us about your job and I'll set a time to come look.
(213) 329-1820Get an on-site estimate for your concrete cut
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. Once you send the form, I'll set a time to come out, look at the slab or wall with you and give you the price for your cut.
Concrete cutting questions from Los Angeles owners
What is the difference between concrete cutting and core drilling?
Saw cutting makes straight lines for an opening, a removal or a clean edge, while core drilling bores round holes for pipes or anchors. Both use diamond tools. Handheld coring is usually limited to holes no bigger than 6 inches across, so a larger hole calls for bigger equipment.
How much does concrete cutting cost in Los Angeles?
Across the US, saw cutting concrete slabs and walls usually runs about $4 to $25 per linear foot of cut. Reinforced or deeper slabs cost more per foot than plain 4- to 6-inch slabs that are easy to reach. On a small job, a minimum charge or the fee to bring the crew out can matter more than the per-foot rate, so I give you the Los Angeles price for your own cut at the estimate.
What is the best way to keep concrete cutting dust out of my house?
Cutting wet is the best way, because the water holds the dust down before it spreads. That dust carries crystalline silica, which the state's workplace safety officials call a known cause of cancer and of silicosis, an incurable lung disease. The wet grit left behind should also stay out of storm drains, which is why we collect it, and it's a fair question to ask any crew.
How do I know if my concrete slab has post-tension cables?
You usually can't tell by looking, which is why a scan comes before any cut. Post-tension cables are steel strands pulled tight inside a slab to help it carry loads and crack less, and they're common in garages, apartment buildings and some house foundations. If you're not sure about yours, tell me and we'll find out before we cut.
Do I need a structural engineer to cut an opening in a concrete wall?
Yes, if the opening is structural. One field guide says any structural opening, or any cut through structural steel, needs the building's structural engineer of record, the engineer responsible for that building's design. We want your engineer's plan in hand before we cut, so tell me early if the wall carries load.
How much can a contractor ask for up front on a home project in California?
On a home improvement project in California, a contractor can't ask for a down payment of more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. After that, each payment should be listed in the contract and tied to work done or materials delivered.
Plan your concrete cutting and the new pour with us
Call (213) 329-1820 or use the form, and send a photo plus the rough length or hole size so I come out ready.
